Unit history tool

[dinsdct]

So I am an assistant stake clerk, I have had responsibility for the Ward and Stake Annual Histories since being called, I have been trying to get up to speed on this new Unit History Tool, one of the Wards in the stake called a History Specialist and asked her to get familiar with the Unit History Tool and then present it to the Ward Council, I talked with her about it to try and get informed about it because according to the Handbook the Stake Clerk (s) are responsible to see that the History programs are implemented in the stake, I have several questions, so is there a Unit History Tool for the Stake or is it just at the ward level, can stake clerks be "authors" or " administrators" ? Second question how can I post "new" topics on this forum and not just reply ? At the ward level who is automatically an "administrator" for the Unit History and can assign "authors" or another administrator ?

[russellhltn]

Second question how can I post "new" topics on this forum and not just reply ?

You can't start a topic while reading a thread. You have to go to the directory/folder level.

If you click on "General Clerk Discussions" above, you'll see a "New Topic" button.

[jdlessley]

So I am an assistant stake clerk, I have had responsibility for the Ward and Stake Annual Histories since being called, I have been trying to get up to speed on this new Unit History Tool ...

You can do that by going to the Unit History page and reviewing the Quick Start Guide and the FAQs available in the Help menu item.

... is there a Unit History Tool for the Stake or is it just at the ward level, can stake clerks be "authors" or " administrators" ? At the ward level who is automatically an "administrator" for the Unit History and can assign "authors" or another administrator ?

Those questions are answered in the Quick Start Guide and the FAQs.

[paulinek]

This is what I want to know too! I'm the Ward Primary Secretary. What about permission from parents to use images of the Primary Children in the unit history story? I read somewhere there's a form to use to get permission of photos taken by someone else, but that's not what I'm after. The Stake Primary President mentioned that I can take pics of the children from a distance, side profile or head down working on their activity, without permission - not sure if that's true. Any information would be very helpful. Thankyou.

[BrianEdwards]

This is what I want to know too! I'm the Ward Primary Secretary. What about permission from parents to use images of the Primary Children in the unit history story? I read somewhere there's a form to use to get permission of photos taken by someone else, but that's not what I'm after. The Stake Primary President mentioned that I can take pics of the children from a distance, side profile or head down working on their activity, without permission - not sure if that's true. Any information would be very helpful. Thankyou.

I'll point back to my previous response in this thread, because I haven't seen anyone post any further clarification:
The only formal documentation about uploading photos seems to be.....
As stated in that post, I am not aware of the Church providing any type of specific restrictions or guidelines like what your Stake RS President describes. I expect that this is very location-dependent, and different countries (and then states/provinces inside those countries), may have additional laws that should be followed.

If anyone is aware of additional Church policy beyond what I've described (or correcting what I've described), that would be good.

[dajoker]

Taken from the FAQ for https://unithistory.churchofjesuschrist.org/ itself:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/leg ... -agreement

Publicity. You consent to the unlimited use of your name, image, story, and likeness as included in your Content in perpetuity and throughout the world, by IRI, its sublicensees, and users of this Site in accordance with this Agreement. You may not submit Content pertaining to other living individuals (e.g., whose name, image, story, or likeness appears in the Content) unless such individuals have given you their consent to submit it to this Site, or if an individual is a minor, the minor’s parent or legal guardian has granted such consent.

I suspect the "if far away" bit is not correct, but tops of heads may be fine since it's probably not possible to accurately identify a random human by the top of their head. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.

Also from the FAQ:

Photographs are welcome and typically make a story better! But remember they need to be in JPEG format. Please keep the number of photos to a reasonable amount per story, and be sure to identify everyone in the images.

Based on the "be sure to identify everyone in the images" I suspect that means you should be able to seek permission from them to be in the unit history, and if you cannot then hiding them is probably prudent. Maybe ask ahead of time, or have the Bishop find out during a new member meeting about sensitivity to being in images that are publicly shared in any way (e.g. a person who wants to not have contact with a former partner/spouse). Helping people understand about the availability and purpose of the Unit History site may make this a lot easier, since if everybody knows that a history is being built, they can opt in (or out) early on and the number who opt out will probably be small, at least in many cultures.

[BrianEdwards]

Yeah, I referenced that agreement page as well in my previous post. Thanks for pointing out the "NIL" specific language regarding others, including children.

To me, it's the "consent" part that's tricky. Is consent a one-time thing, per specific events, or do individual pictures need to be cleared? And is it verbally given, or written? And how is consent documented, or for that matter, does the consent need to be documented? All that doesn't seem to be specified beyond the "consent is required" language, and we're left to our own interpretations about what is and isn't appropriate regarding consent.

I'd also point out that even mentioning the names of other people in a Unit History Story falls into this category of requiring consent, per that agreement language.